


Meant for Me

by aneramyre



Category: AKB48, AKB48 & Related Fandoms, SKE48
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Femslash, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:29:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29948643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aneramyre/pseuds/aneramyre
Summary: Knowing your soulmate's name and age when you meet isn't as convenient as it sounds. Soulmate AU set in SKE48 1st Gen auditions in 2008.
Relationships: Matsui Jurina/Matsui Rena
Kudos: 8





	Meant for Me

When it comes to looking for soulmates, Matsui Rena was one of the lucky ones. After all, it's enviable to have the first words that you'll hear from your soulmate - the words tattooed on your body since birth - be their name and age. This gave her not only the identity and possible gender of her destined one, but also a general estimate of when she could meet her.   
  
Or so she thought.  
  
'11 years old, Matsui Jurina.'  
  
She knew it by heart. As soon as she knew the purpose of the words on her arm, she had prepared herself for whenever her soulmate could make an appearance. At the age of 7, Rena assumed that she has a few more years before she would meet her future partner, but she kept a keen eye and ear at every introduction, just in case.  
  
Sixth grade rolled around and Rena was as nervous as ever. She looked at every girl in her class, wondering which of them is her 11-year old soulmate. But the last person has introduced herself and she still wasn't Matsui Jurina.  
  
_"Maybe she's in another class?"_ she thought hopefully.  
  
She eventually discovered that she wasn’t. As class representative and frequent volunteer to help teachers with their little errands, she was able to get a good look at the student records, and was disappointed to learn that there was no Matsui Jurina anywhere in her school.  
  
Every birthday, she panicked a little more. She was getting ahead in age and she has yet to meet her soulmate… who would be 11 years old.  
  
Rena was twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen.  
  
At this point, she was sure she missed hearing her soulmate's introduction somehow. Despite her paying full attention to every person she meets, maybe, _maybe_ , she missed a few. And one of them was the most important introduction she'll ever hear.  
  
Outside of her soulmate-related worry spurts, she spends her time on her hobbies, just like any other 16-year-old girl. She was a full-fledged otaku, surpassing even her brother, who introduced her to anime. She has also become a fan of idols, like AKB48. Being her introverted self, she was more of a stay-at-home wota than anything. She has come to love the personalities of the members of AKB48 in their TV shows. The fail character of Takamina, the humor and energy of Yuko, the idol cyborg that was Mayuyu, and so many others.  
  
Rena has been to a few handshake events, and she met a few other fangirls (none of which were Matsui Jurina) who admitted to wanting to join the group, and she admitted that she herself might want to try becoming an idol. But she brushed those thoughts aside. She lived in Nagoya, AKB worked in Tokyo. Besides, she had other things to worry about other than her farfetched dream, and she still has her soulmate to look for. 

  


* * *

  


She was surprised when she heard the news.  
  
Akimoto Yasushi was holding auditions for a sister group of AKB48.  
  
In _Nagoya_ , of all places.  
  
Three days after her seventeenth birthday.  
  
Rena didn't know what exactly a 'sister group' is, but 'audition' and 'Nagoya' together sounded promising. Was this a birthday gift? A compensation for missing her meeting with her soulmate? Whatever it was, Rena has decided - after much deliberation with herself and her family - to take it. She said that she wouldn't dare dream of being an idol and that it was an impossible dream, but this opportunity… this is exactly what could make it real.  
  
If she missed meeting Matsui Jurina, she wasn't going to miss _this_ rare opportunity. 

  


* * *

  


There were so many girls auditioning - 2670 of them, in fact. Rena even recognized some of them from her handful of AKB handshake events in Tokyo. As much as she would like to do more than wave and smile at them, she was nervous. She has prepared herself for this and was ready to do her best, but it's not like preparation was all one needed for things like this. She needed luck too.  
  
Too busy trying to calm themselves down, Rena and several of the other girls jumped in surprise when a loud voice echoed in the room. It was an announcement that auditionee number 75 was going to be performing last because her song was missing.  
  
Well.  
  
_That's_ someone who didn't have luck today.  
  
If that girl weren't competition, Rena would have felt bad for her. But she was, so she felt a little relief instead. 

  


* * *

  


Rena watched number 75, a girl maybe about 15 years old, make her way to the front. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with pink stripes, was cute, and had a friendly, dimpled smile. She had to admit that this girl would be a good addition to AKB's roster of personalities.  
  
While Watanabe Mayu could be considered a little-sister type of idol because she was young and cute, she was also robotic and cold. This girl - number 75 - seemed to be the cheerful, sporty imouto type.  
  
Her movements and suntanned look make her seem cool, active, and outdoorsy. Fun and youthful.  
  
Rena shook her head and chastised herself. She was already pigeonholing this girl as if she knew everything about her when this is the first time she's laid eyes on her. Who knows, she could actually be a completely different type of girl.  
  
There was something weird about her, though. When it was Rena's turn to sing, she introduced herself then number 75 suddenly stood up, looking shocked. She didn't make a sound so no one noticed. No one but the girl facing everyone else: Rena herself. Rena admitted that she got distracted by it, wondering what the girl's sudden surprise was about. Luckily, she got a hold of herself and was able to sing nicely. As nicely as she could, anyway. (Hopefully singing an AKB song gave her a few extra points.)  
  
Going back to the present, she watched number 75, the last auditionee, take a deep breath and bring the microphone to her lips.  
  
"11 years old, Matsui Jurina."  
  
Time seemed to stop. Matsui Jurina, she said? She misheard that, right? This obsession with finding her soulmate must be getting to her.  
  
Until number 75 introduced herself again because the judges asked her to repeat it.  
  
Rena looked at her arm. This Matsui Jurina? This 11-year-old? Now that she turned 17? And _here_ of all places?  
  
_Why now?!_

  


* * *

  


"Number 66, Matsui-san."  
  
" _Hai._ "  
  
Rena held her hands together in front of her face, as if praying. She passed? Out of 2670 girls, _she_ got in? She felt her body go warm, the excitement and adrenaline coming back to her from when she was in front of the judges. She felt tears in her eyes when she realized how big of a hurdle she jumped.  
  
But wait, what was she doing? She should be paying attention!  
  
If her soulmate doesn't pass, she doesn't know how she'll find her agai-  
  
"Number 75, Matsui-san."  
  
" _Hai,_ " Rena heard the familiar voice answer from the same row.  
  
"That is the end the final round, so those whose names were called…"  
  
They… they passed! Dear god of Melonpan, they both passed! Rena and her soulmate were going to be idols. She now had easy access to her soulmate, whom she had been waiting for for literal _years_!  
  
The auditionees were dismissed. After gathering her things, Rena thought of approaching her newfound soulmate, still not completely sure that this was really happening. After all, how could a single day be so perfect?  
  
She hesitated and thought for a bit. She even checked herself in the mirror to fix whatever part of her appearance could be saved. Then she walked to where Matsui Jurina was standing.  
  
_Wait, is this okay?_ She was going to talk to her soulmate for the first time and she REALLY didn't want to mess this up. They are 6 years apart. What's the worst case scenario? That Matsui Jurina would think she was some lame, ugly hag and decide that she would rather die alone?  
  
_Nooooo!_  
  
Rena didn't even notice she was already standing behind Matsui Jurina and was making weird faces as her thoughts went wild with worst case scenarios. Oblivious to her crisis, Matsui Jurina finished getting her bag ready and her face immediately lit up as soon as she noticed her.  
  
"Rena-chan!" She exclaimed, and that threw Rena off.  
  
_'Rena-chan'?!_ Is it acceptable to immediately be this familiar? Has anyone ever met their soulmate and started calling them 'honey' immediately? It wasn't that Rena had anything against it. She just didn’t know how to approach this situation.  
  
"Sorry, was that too forward? You can call me Jurina too! Can I see your tattoo? Here's mine!"   
  
She was really excited, this Matsu- Jurina. It was just 'Jurina' now. No longer 'Matsui Jurina'.  
  
Rena then saw the words on this cheerful girl's arm: '17 years old, Matsui Rena.' That would explain her reaction when she introduced herself earlier. She showed her own tattoo and Jurina gasped in amazement.  
  
But before Jurina can say anything about it, the few remaining girls were reminded to exit so the staff could start packing up.  
  
"Oops, we should probably get out of their way, _ne_?" Jurina grinned and led her by the hand out of the building.  
  
The hand that grabbed hers was warm and calloused. _Sports? A musical instrument?_ Great, her soulmate's possible hobbies were already more dignified than hers.  
  
Once they were out, Jurina didn't let go, instead taking her other hand with her own.  
  
This is where Rena noticed that Jurina was quite tall - almost as tall as her - and mature-looking for her age. She had a rough, boyish voice that went well with her manner of speaking. And she talked a lot.  
  
Which she should probably be listening to instead of just admiring how cool-looking her soulmate is.  
  
"-lready have a list of things I want to do with my soulmate but it's not complete yet. I didn’t expect to meet you this early and-"  
  
As if realizing that she was overwhelming the other girl, Jurina stopped abruptly and took a deep breath to calm herself down and observe her newfound partner.  
  
"Wow… You're really pretty. So much prettier than I ever dreamed!"  
  
_Pretty?_ Rena blinked and double-checked to see if Jurina was talking to someone else, because she can't possibly be talking to _her_. But there was no one else around.  
  
"…Me?" She asked dumbly.  
  
"Yes, you! Who else would I be dreaming of?" Jurina said matter-of-factly then giggling at her confusion.  
  
Rena ducked her head. "I'm sorry, it's just… I don't get called that a lot." Not to mention she just realized that she must look like a grandma in what she was wearing. Not flattering at all.  
  
"Really? Maybe everyone's too shy to tell you that. Because I'm telling the truth."  
  
She was going to demurely deny the confident declaration, but Jurina's phone notified her of a text. She tried to ignore the teeniest bit of disappointment when Jurina let go of her hand to check her phone.  
  
"Oh, Mom's just around the corner. I have to leave soon. Can I ask for your number?"  
  
With a nod, Rena took Jurina's phone - a cute pink flip phone with a little charm hanging on it - and entered her number. Jurina gave hers as well.  
  
"Thanks! I'll text you. One last thing, can you close your eyes?"  
  
Just in case, Rena put her hands on her body bag - people get stuff stolen from them when their guard is down - and closed her eyes.  
  
Instead of a violent wrenching of her bag from her, what she felt was a light press of something soft and sweet against her lips. Almost as if... probably not, right?  
  
Swatting any thoughts aside, she found herself unconsciously pressing back.  
  
When she opened her eyes, she found out that she _was_ right, and that those soft things were, in fact, Jurina's lips.  
  
Sporting a cheeky grin, Jurina pulled back.  
  
"That was a 'nice to meet you, soulmate' kiss," she finished by bowing at the waist. " _Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!_ "  
  
" _Y-Yoroshiku_ … Uhh…" Face red, fingers on her lips, Rena struggled to form a reply.  
  
But Jurina had to go.  
  
"Hehe. It was nice meeting you. See you at practice, Rena-chan!" She waved and ran off.  
  
Rena waved back and as soon as Jurina turned the corner, she stood with her back against the wall, trying to collect her thoughts on everything that has happened today. Barely five minutes later, she received a text.  
  
From: Jurina  
Rena-chwaaaan. It's me \\(★ω★)/  
When are you free? (✧ω✧)  
Let's go to Disneyland for our first date! (ﾉ◕ω<)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

The first date already? Then again, it was Disneyland, and Rena was never going to say no to Disneyland. Also, the way Jurina texted was so cute! She spent a few minutes agonizing over what to reply, then revised it several times before finally hitting 'Send'.  
  
Not long after, her own mother arrived to fetch her, and she immediately relayed the day's events.  
  
"Your soulmate? You finally found this 'Matsui Jurina'? Ahh, that's a shame. I wish I could have seen her!"  
  
"No worries, mother. You will have plenty of chances to meet her from now on."  
  
Meeting Jurina was her fate right from the start. And they met in this audition for this idol group… SKE48. She dared to hope that meeting both this dreamed-of career path and this special person in the same place is proof that this is where she was meant to be.  
  
During their walk to the train, Rena couldn't help but smile to herself, gently thumbing the tattoo on her arm, spelling the words that led her to her destiny.

  


* * *

  


Omake:  
_Many years later_  
J: Come on, Rena-chan. Admit it! Your signature (・ω・) was inspired by my face! And I used a lot of kaomoji too.  
R: Nope.  
J: („• ˾•„)  
_R: Ahh- cute_  
R: _Fufu_ the inspiration is a secret.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Funny how Jurina is more often characterized as (・∀・) in Japanese fics since Rena already has a claim on (・ω・) despite the mouth shape fitting Jurina more. Still cute though.


End file.
